What should I do before I contact the UITS Support Center for help?

Check the Knowledge Base first

UITS Support Center consultants initiate a great deal of Knowledge Base content in response to questions people in the IU community ask. Searching this Knowledge Base for help with your problem before calling or emailing the Support Center may give you a speedier answer (enter your search terms in the box at the top of this page). For more, see the Knowledge Base search help.

Contacting the Support Center

If the Knowledge Base does not address your problem or if you need further assistance, contact your campus Support Center. Provide as much of the following information as possible. If you call, have the information available, be at your computer, and have the computer turned on.

What operating system are you using (e.g., Windows 10, macOS 10.12)?

If the problem has to do with software, what version of that software are you using (e.g., Microsoft Outlook 2016)?

It often helps to provide some context, for example:

What you were trying to do

Whether you've ever been able to do this, and if so, if anything about your system has changed since then

If you've done anything to try to fix the problem

How long the problem has been occurring

If you received an error message, note its exact text. Some error messages have a Details button. Click the Details button, if available, to show a more complete error similar to this:

This is followed by a list of numbers called the register dump. Copy the complete error message for the Support Center, but ignore the long register dump.

Getting help for new computer hardware or software

If your computer is less than a year old and you have problems with its DVD drive, wireless card, network card, monitor, or any other hardware or software that came with the computer, contact the computer vendor. A technical support phone number should be available in the computer's user manual. For new computers, free technical support and warranty coverage are usually available for a limited time (usually one year). If you were sold a computer with faulty components, contact the vendor right away.

If you have problems with the software you purchased for your computer, contact the technical support number for that software package before contacting the Support Center. Software companies often provide either 30 to 90 days worth of free support, or free help for the first one or two questions.

This is documentagczin the Knowledge Base.Last modified on2016-12-12 13:43:03.